


Surprise!

by boldlygoingnowherefast



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Birthday Party, Cooking, Fluff and Humor, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22190632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boldlygoingnowherefast/pseuds/boldlygoingnowherefast
Summary: When Lup and Taako realize they've forgotten Magnus' birthday, they scramble to plan a last-minute party for him.Fluff, humor, and more fluff, with a side of found family chaos.
Relationships: Lup & Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24
Collections: The Candlenights Zone (2019 Exchange)





	Surprise!

**Author's Note:**

> Completed for the Candlenights exchange for @loboloca on tumblr! I hope you enjoy!

Lup was warm and sleeping soundly when a buzzing noise cut through her dreams and steadily dragged her to consciousness. She blinked up at the dark ceiling, and it took her a moment to realize the noise that had woken her was the stone of farspeech going mad on her bedside table.

Lup fumbled for the stone, careful not to jostle Barry, who was still snoring on the other side of the bed. She struggled to her feet and tiptoed across the bedroom. The bathroom door clicked shut behind her, and she finally answered the call.

_“Lup, Lup, answer goddamn it.”_

“Taako? What is it?” she asked with a frown.

_“Oh, good. I thought you were ignoring me.”_

“I was _asleep,_ doofus. It’s four AM.”

_“Yeah, yeah. Listen, we have a level six emergency.”_

Lup squinted in the dark of the bathroom as she struggled to remember their system. “Six is major social upheaval but no risk of bodily harm, right?”

Taako’s sigh crackled through the stone. _“Do you know what tomorrow is?”_

Lup was too bleary to be doing this kind of thinking. “The twelfth?”

_“Tomorrow is Magnus’ birthday, Lup. We forgot!”_

A rush of panic filled Lup’s chest and she slapped a hand on her forehead. “Shit!”

 _“Yeah, shit. The plan was to do a huge party and everything, and we forgot. Do you want to see Magnus cry? You know he will. He’ll get all teary and pretend he’s not crying and wave us all off, but we’ll_ know. _”_

Lup closed her eyes. “Okay. We’ve pulled together on even less notice. We’re basically party magicians. We can do this.”

Lup could hear the smile in Taako’s voice as he responded. _“Hell yes, we have. First thing’s first: the venue.”_

“Easy. Merle definitely has real estate on the coast we can use. If not, Lucretia will let us use the Bureau headquarters.”

_“I’ll call him. Avi can be in charge of music. We can handle the food, but an extra set of hands would be nice.”_

“Maybe Carey? She seems competent. If not, someone else in the Bureau can help, I’m sure.”

Taako hummed. _“This is great and all, but Magnus cares about people more than anything else. We need to make sure everyone comes. Davenport’s gonna be the trickiest.”_

The bathroom door opened and the light clicked on. Lup blinked at Barry, whose hair was a mess and who wasn’t wearing his glasses, leaving him squinting and bemused. “You okay in here?”

_“Barold.”_

“Hey, Taako,” Barry replied.

“Magnus’ birthday is tomorrow,” Lup explained. “We completely forgot about it, like a bunch of terrible, horrible people.”

Barry straightened from his slouch in surprise. “Shit. I’m assuming you two are planning a last-minute party. How can I help?”

 _“Barry can handle the guest list,”_ Taako replied. _“Everyone Magnus cares about. Let them know the party will be in Bottlenose Cove this evening, transportation provided.”_

“What transportation?” Barry asked quizzically.

_“The Bureau canons. Keep up, Barry.”_

Barry frowned. “Lup, Kravitz, and I literally have portal magic.”

_“Alright, Barry, you win this round.”_

It was only years of dealing with the twins that allowed Barry to understand them as they furiously planned in the small hours of the morning. Eventually, Kravitz joined the conversation from Taako’s side, and as the sun crept its searching fingers over the horizon, they had a solid plan. Now it was time to execute it.

Lup loved her job as a bounty hunter for the Raven Queen, and she loved working with Barry and Kravitz, but nothing beat party planning with Taako. Even though they usually liked at least two weeks to plan a good party, this was a challenge that they were both easily rising to meet. They were going to throw Magnus the best last-minute birthday bash this side of Faerun.

“Merle, I can’t believe you’ve had this kitchen for months and haven’t told us about it,” Lup commented as they stepped into the gleaming kitchen that was attached to the large event space Merle had led them into.

Merle shrugged. “I honestly didn’t even think about it. You wouldn’t believe how much happens under your nose when you’re an earl. I heard ‘event space’ and signed my name. This building appeared a few months later.”

Lup spared a few moments to admire the shiny double oven before meeting Taako at the giant center island where he was beginning to poke through their supplies.

“Do you guys need my help with anything?” Merle asked, hovering by Lup’s elbow as she started grabbing the ingredients.

“Merle, you know you’re not allowed to help in the kitchen after that incident in year 64,” Taako called from the stovetop, barely looking up from the pan.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But for the party in general? I’m sure there’s something I can do.”

“Barry’s been having trouble getting ahold of Davenport,” Lup replied. “Do you think you can try?”

Merle brightened. “Sure!”

“Lup, can you throw me the garlic?” Taako called from the stove, and Lup let herself be pulled into the exciting flurry of cooking.

After she arrived around noon, Carey joined them in the kitchen. She was a passable cook, and she followed directions easily, making her a good third. When she had heard their last-minute plan for a party for Magnus, she had put down everything to help. Lucretia had given the rest of the Bureau the day off and many of them were here, getting the large event space decorated for the party.

“Has anyone called Magnus?” Carey asked from where she was stirring the batter.

Taako cursed, up to his elbows in cream cheese.

“I’ll call him,” Lup offered before Taako could get himself any more wound up.

She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and stepped away from the chaos of the kitchen, out into the warm spring air, the breeze light and salty from the ocean in the distance. She pulled out her stone of farspeech and dialed Magnus.

_“Hey, Lup, what’s up?”_

Lup smiled at Magnus’ cheery tone. “Just calling to see if you’re busy this evening.”

Magnus paused. _“I actually have a training appointment tonight, but—”_

Lup’s heart rabbited in her chest. Just their luck. “Cancel it. We need you in Bottlenose Cove.”

 _“Why? Is Merle okay_?” Magnus’ voice tightened, and Lup wondered if he had forgotten what day it was. If Magnus suspected what this was about, his voice would be bright with barely-hidden excitement, and his acting skills had never been that great.

“No, no, Merle’s fine. Nothing bad’s happening. Just trust me, okay?”

It was a testament to how long they’d known each other that Magnus barely paused before replying, “Alrighty then. See you this evening.”

Merle managed to get in contact with Davenport, and Lup decided to spare them all the headache by not asking how. His ship had been in the area, and Davenport showed up barely two hours after Merle had called him, the kind of timing surely blessed by the Lady Istus.

Taako and Lup drafted Lucretia and Carey to help set food out on the tables, and Avi was looking smug as music filled the event space. There were flowers everywhere, courtesy of Merle, and all the familiar faces surrounding Lup made her heart warm. Lup hadn’t doubted their ability to put together a party, but seeing how well everyone had come together for Magnus was enough to make her teary-eyed.

Lup’s stone buzzed.

_“Lup, where in Bottlenose Cove am I going? I knocked on Merle’s door but no one is there.”_

“I’ll go get him,” Merle said and then jogged toward the door.

“Stay put,” Lup instructed.

_“This is pretty weird but okay…”_

Lup gestured to the crowd. “Quiet, everyone! We want to surprise him.”

The silence was thick and excited as they waited for Merle to show up with Magnus in tow.

“And I told him to cut back on the red sauce because he _knows_ what it does to me, but you can never trust bar cooks these days, even ones you know personally.”

That was Merle’s voice, coming from just outside. The silence got thicker as the front door swung open and Merle stepped through, followed closely by Magnus.

“Surprise!”

Magnus’ hand twitched upwards as if reaching for the ax that was usually strapped to his back, but his surprise quickly morphed into happy excitement at the sight of so many familiar faces. “All this for me?”

Merle patted Magnus on the arm. “It’s not often you turn 140, buddy.”

“You all are so sweet,” Magnus sniffed. There was a brightness to Magnus’ gaze that suggested happy tears, but he was quickly pulled into the crowd, and the party went into full swing.

There was good beer, wonderful food, and great music, and Lup and Taako allowed themselves a small clink of their glasses in self-congratulations.

“Anyone who doesn’t think we’re the best party planners around needs to get a grip,” Lup said after she had taken a sip of the delightful spring wine.

Taako grinned. “Damn fucking right.”

They separated to mingle with their friends, and Lup got a chance to talk to both Lucretia and Davenport, a rare treat when they were often so busy. The rest of the Bureau she still didn’t know too well, but they were good people and Lup was warming to them fast. Anyone who put down everything to be there for Magnus was a good person, in Lup's book. 

Taako sidled up to Lup and Barry about an hour into the party, face flushed from alcohol and hat slightly askew. “Don’t look now,” he whispered, “but Merle is busting some truly tragic moves on the dancefloor.”

Kravitz showed up at Taako’s shoulder. “Yes, but he’s gotten others dancing too, which I think was his plan.”

Magnus and Carey had joined Merle, and Lup had to admit it was pretty cute, despite the truly awful dancing. Lup reached out and grabbed Taako’s hand. “Come on. That looks fun.”

It was moments like these, with everyone Lup cared about around her and happy, that Lup knew her life was everything she wanted. Her brother, smiling a toothy smile as she twirled him under her arm, Barry and Kravitz watching with fondness, Magnus doing an uncoordinated sprinkler dance as Merle goaded him, and the rest of their friends surrounding them. They were still Lup and Taako, were still the IPRE crew lost in the planar system, but they were also so much more.

The song ended and Magnus joined them at the side of the dancefloor. “This is wonderful, you guys. I don’t know how to thank you.”

Taako waved a hand. “No need to thank us, my dude. This was just as fun for us as it was for you, I can tell you that.”

Magnus eyed the flowers and the drinks and turned back to them, looking like he was winding up to say something. He took a breath. “You do know that my birthday is next week, right?”

Taako blinked. “What?”

“My birthday is the 21st. Today is the 12th.” He was smiling, wide and crooked and Lup felt like a dumbass.

“We put together this frantic, last-minute party for no reason?” Taako asked, voice tight.

Magnus’ smile grew. “You scrambled to throw a same-day party for me?” His eyes grew watery again and he looped his arms around both Lup and Taako’s shoulders. “I have the best friends in the world.”

Taako huffed a breath, but Lup couldn’t help the rush of warmth that filled her. Despite their mistake, it was still a banging party, and Lup couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

“Who wants another round of drinks?” she asked, and the answering cheer of the affirmative was music to her ears.


End file.
